Six days before the Serie A season begins at Frosinone, Juventus do not have a first-choice goalkeeper. That sentence, extraordinary in its implausibility for a club of their stature, is nonetheless the reality that Monday morning’s reporting makes unmistakably clear. And after yet another 24-hour cycle of soaring hope and crashing disappointment, Guglielmo Vicario has returned — improbably, inevitably — to the head of the queue.
The Summer in Its Full Absurdity
It began with Alisson in the spring — a dream that evaporated in June. Dibu Martínez became the obsession that defined the window for twelve weeks, reaching the point of personal agreement before running into Aston Villa’s immovable fee demands. Suzuki emerged as the creative PSG-facilitated solution, was practically confirmed, then collapsed over agent commissions in a single afternoon. Villa swept in for Suzuki, which reopened the Martínez door, which briefly appeared to be closing to three million euros’ distance — and then, in the space of an extraordinary Sunday afternoon, appeared to close again.
The reason for the latest braking on Martínez, Tuttosport’s Stefano Lanzo reveals, is twofold. First, Aston Villa’s price — €10 million fixed with no bonus element — remains above what Juventus have been willing to commit to in their most recent offer. Second, and more significantly, a medical concern that Juventus have been quietly investigating: a problem with the Argentine’s right-hand finger sustained before the World Cup, the risk of surgery still not entirely excluded. For a club asking themselves whether to commit a significant fee and a €5 million per year wage to a 33-year-old goalkeeper, the combination of a fee dispute and a medical uncertainty has proved, at least temporarily, too much to overcome.
Vicario: The Enduring Fallback That Is No Longer a Fallback
Into that vacuum steps, once more, Guglielmo Vicario. Fresh contacts have been made with the Italian international’s agents, and further dialogue with Tottenham is expected in the coming hours. The key development is that Vicario himself has formally requested his club release him — a public declaration of intent that changes Spurs’ negotiating posture. Having previously resisted a loan with right to purchase as the only formula Juventus consider appropriate, Tottenham are now facing a player who has made clear he wants to go. That changes everything.
The alternatives remain as they have been for weeks: Musso, Ederson at Fenerbahçe, and Trubin of Benfica — the last of whom is admired enormously but whose price tag continues to disqualify him within the current financial constraints. None is straightforward. None is certain.
Perin at Frosinone — Spalletti’s Patience Tested to Its Limits
Unless a dramatic development occurs in the next 48 hours, Mattia Perin will start the season opener against Frosinone as Juventus’s first-choice goalkeeper. The veteran Italian international is a reliable, experienced option — but he is 34 years old, carrying a moderate shoulder problem, and has never been identified by Spalletti as anything other than a secondary figure. Beginning the season with him in goal was not in anyone’s plans when the summer began. It may yet be the reality.
The goalkeeper saga continues. The summer, in this one respect, refuses to end. And Spalletti, who has been waiting patiently since June for the signing that completes his squad, keeps waiting still.
